One of the oldest languages in India, Sanskrit has its foundation rooted back in the Vedas and is considered the language of God. World Sanskrit Day is celebrated on Sawan Purnima and this year, it will be celebrated on August 22, with the aim of promoting its revival and maintaining the dignity of the language. Despite being born in India, this ancient language is spoken by less population in the country. It was back in 1969 when Sanskrit Diwas was celebrated for the first time. The basic idea of this day is to celebrate and spread awareness about the language which undoubtedly inherits the rich culture of India and is used to depict stories of ancient history.

The word Sanskrit is composed of two words - ‘san’ meaning together and ‘Krit’ meaning made or formed - and, so the entire word Sanskrit refers to being ‘well-formed, perfected, pure and sacred’. Sanskrit is believed to have been born in India some 3,500 years ago. The language was originated and was used by the Indo-Aryan families, but not many are aware of and speak this language outside India. The history of this ancient language dates back to the Rigveda period in a text format. The language depicts our ancient glorified history and needs to be cherished by all. Here are some less known facts about Sanskrit

The base of All Languages

South Indian languages such as Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada have evolved from Sanskrit. This language is not just a mother to languages in India but many others across the world. The Romanian language has been derived from Sanskrit.

Language used in Rituals and Ceremonies

As mentioned above, the language inherits its existence since the Rigveda period and, therefore, it is used in religious ceremonies and rituals. It's not just Hindu saints who recite Sanskrit shlokas but Buddhist monks have also started reciting mantras in Sanskrit.

Algorithms and Literature

Versatile as it is, this language incorporates a more technical, systematic language in the world. Scholars and literature used Sanskrit as it's highly scholar, philosophical, calculative and mythological. Kautilya, Aryabhatta, Brahmagupta, Valmiki, Kalidas and many more used this language. The mythology and literature like Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagwat Geeta are all written in Sanskrit.

Weeklies and Magazines

Media has incorporated this language in its own way by publishing weeklies and daily newspapers in Sanskrit. Not many people know this interesting fact that Sanskrit daily news and newspapers exist even today. Gujarat is one state that has been holding the language with publishing daily newspaper and the All India Radio has been broadcasting its daily news in Sanskrit since 1974.

Help in Speech Therapy

Sanskrit has proven to be a language that has helped in speech therapy. Scientists have suggested that learning this language can help in the smooth functioning of the brain and children learn this language fast.

Sanskrit is a language that is now showing its presence across the world. Countries like the UK, US have started learning a lot about Sanskrit and have also started incorporating it into their academics.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 22, 2021 07:41 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).